The present disclosure relates generally to an arrangement for, and a method of, finding and recovering an electrically-powered, mobile device, such as a portable data capture device, that is missing and presumed to be lost in a venue, such as a retail store.
Many different types of electrically-powered, mobile devices, such as handheld data capture readers, smartphones, tablets, computers, smartwatches, or like electronic devices, are held or worn, and operated, by human operators in various venues, such as retail stores, factories, warehouses, distribution centers, buildings, or like controlled indoor and outdoor areas. For example, one type of mobile data capture device can be a handheld, radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) tag reader for reading RFID tags associated with products located in the venue. Another type of mobile data capture device can be a handheld, bar code symbol reader, either moving laser beam-based or imager-based, for electro-optically reading bar code symbols associated with the products. Still another type of mobile data capture device can be a handheld terminal or computer, such as a smartphone with an onboard camera for capturing images of various targets, such as bar code symbols, products, or operators. In operation, such electronic mobile devices are electrically powered by an onboard battery, and are operated to perform their data capture functions, typically while being held in one of the operator's hands.
Although such mobile devices are generally satisfactory for their intended purposes, the operators may, from time to time, lay their mobile devices down on a nearby support surface to take a break, or to free their hands to perform tasks other than data capture, such as retrieving products from storage, or attending to some paperwork, etc., and thereafter, may forget to pick their mobile devices up to resume their operation, or forget where they laid the mobile devices down. Time and labor must be expended to hunt down these missing mobile devices. Sometimes, these missing mobile devices are never found and are deemed lost. Such lost mobile devices are costly to replace, and are unavailable to perform their intended functions.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to readily find and recover such lost mobile devices so that they need not be replaced and can be readily put back into service, with minimal service disruption.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and locations of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The arrangement and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.